


Confrontation

by Meepzer



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid
Genre: Happy Ending?, How Do I Tag, I Love General MacNamara, Implied/Referenced Character Death, There's references to Goodman and Xander
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24560866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meepzer/pseuds/Meepzer
Summary: "There were things about him that had changed. The unreadable expression he wore was foreign on what should have been a familiar face. Something about the way he carried himself wasn’t quite right. And there was something in his eyes that unsettled John to no end—an unkind reminder that this was not the Wilbur he knew."In which John McNamara and Wilbur Cross have a chat. Happens in between Made in America and Monsters & Men reprise.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	Confrontation

**Author's Note:**

> See if you can catch the Spies Are Forever and BF Scratch Track references!

The Black and White exists outside of time. The Black and White exists outside of space.

The Black and White is also very dark, and John McNamara thought about this as he let his last cigarette dangle from his fingers and fall to the ground. He watched the embers slowly dim before dying out entirely, succumbing to the inky abyss of the Black and White.

Out of habit, he pressed his boot on top of where he thought the cigarette was—not that he could even see where it had gone, or if it was even still there. And then it was gone.

And so this was it. His spirit’s final resting place. Nothing but darkness. Nothing but his own thoughts.

There was too much to think about. His final exchange with Goodman echoed throughout his mind over and over, and why wouldn’t it? John sacrificed himself for his country.

And he would do it again, and again, and again, because that’s what heroes do.

But then his mind wandered to Xander, and all of the PEIP agents he would leave behind, and he faltered.

He worked his jaw. _I’m sorry._

And there was still the situation in Hatchetfield. _I’ll do what I can from here_ , he had said to Goodman. How could he help them? He _had_ to. Somehow. He had to.

It was as he thought this that he heard a voice. Alien, and yet deeply familiar.

“So, this is where you meet your end, huh, John?”

John turned with leaden limbs, letting his eyes rest on the only thing visible in the overwhelming darkness: Wilbur Cross.

It had been years since John had last seen him, and yet Wilbur had barely changed since the fateful day he entered the portal. Same jet black hair. Same hazel eyes. It was certainly him.

But there were things about him that had changed. The unreadable expression he wore was foreign on what should have been a familiar face. Something about the way he carried himself wasn’t quite right. And there was something in his eyes that unsettled John to no end—an unkind reminder that this was not the Wilbur he knew.

“I suppose it is,” he said.

“You know, there isn’t a sense of time here in Wiggly’s house. So tell me. How long has it been?”

John, uncharacteristically, dropped his gaze. “13 years,” he said softly. He looked back up at Wilbur, who hummed thoughtfully.

“Well, your hair is longer,” Wilbur observed. “But it doesn’t look like you’ve changed much.

John tugged at one of his curls. “I can’t say the same for you, Wilbur.”

He hummed again. “No,” he said. “I suppose you can’t.” He angled his head, eyeing John with a strange curiosity. “Still playing the good side?”

John straightened, his face hardening. “I’m protecting those who need it. I’m doing whatever I can to save whoever I can. I’m serving my country.”

“So, yes, then.”

John’s voice turned cold. He resisted the urge to bristle. “And what about you? Abandoning everything you’ve ever believed in? Helping some hideous eldritch monster achieve world domination?”

At his words, a low rumbling reverberated all around them, like distant thunder.

Wilbur’s eyes flashed in warning. “You should be careful of what you say about him. You’re in his domain now. He doesn’t take kindly to insults.”

“I didn’t realize you cared what Wiggly did to me.”

“I didn’t either.”

John clenched his jaw, feeling his face warm with a rush of anger and confusion. “How? How could you abandon all of us? All you did for PEIP, all you taught me—how is it that you could just throw everything away? How did Wiggly get your undying loyalty?”

“I _chose_ Wiggly.”

“ _Why?”_

“Don’t you see, John?” Wilbur asked. “Wiggly showed me the light. He showed me that I was on the losing side. He showed me that I can be more than someone constantly fighting an unending uphill battle.”

“That’s all that matters to you? Winning?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” said Wilbur with a shake of the head. ”I want to reach my fullest potential. I can help him shape the world.”

“At what cost, Wilbur?”

Wilbur stiffened. “There’s no point in trying to save it,” he said. As he spoke, he began to saunter in John’s direction, his voice rising. “Poverty, corruption, brutality, ignorance, hatred—there’s hardly anything to save. Why try to do any sort of good when it’ll always get snuffed out by the bad?”

“Because it doesn’t always get snuffed out. There will always be love and strength in one’s heart.”

Wilbur stopped, a knowing look crossing his face. “You really haven’t changed.”

“But you have. You used to share those beliefs with me.” John took a step towards Wilbur, eyes pleading. “What happened?”

“I was enlightened.”

“Enlightened,” he repeated. “You’re not who I remember. I… Who am I really talking to? ”

“ _You’re talking to Wilbur Cross_. The one you know, the one you loved, the one who taught you everything you know.”

The two went silent. John was careful not to drop his stare. Wilbur’s eyes flitted about John’s face, searching.

He broke the silence. “You know, I have missed you.”

John said nothing. He looked down at his hands, which were slowly becoming less opaque. He was losing himself.

Wilbur noticed the same thing. “And you don’t have much time left,” he said.

And then he did something unexpected: he held out his hand. “Join me.”

“What?”

“You don’t have to die here. Wiggly can make you whole again. We can use your talents, John. You can be a part of something people believe in. You’re worth more than fighting for a world that will never come to be.”

He fell silent, watching as John’s eyes darted from his hand to his face. “I know you believe in your higher law of love and strength. But, John—it’s over for you. Unless you join us, and make a difference. I don’t have to watch you die. So join me.” He stretched his hand out further. “We’ll be... together again.”

“...Wilbur,” said John, with great fatigue, “I can’t. I can’t compromise all of my beliefs for you. For anyone. I can’t give up on everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve. I can’t abandon everything and everyone I’ve sworn to protect. Never.”

Wilbur’s eyebrows twitched, but his expression didn’t change. He retracted his hand. “I expected you would say that,” he said. He fixed John with an indecipherable expression. In a strange sort of cadence, he spoke again. “Belief really is a powerful thing.” He turned from him, beginning to slink away. “I’ll leave you to your end, General.”

“Nothing else to say?”

“It’s something I don’t care to see.” Wilbur glanced at him from his profile, continuing to walk. “A shame to let you go to waste.” He turned his head back forward, pausing. “Farewell, John.”

John watched Wilbur continue walking until he disappeared into the darkness. He looked down at the ground, and then back at where Wilbur used to be. “I’m not dead yet,” he murmured. His own words sounded in his mind again. _I’ll do what I can from here._

He felt for his firearm, pulling it from its holster. He knew how he was going to help now.

“Not dead yet.”

**Author's Note:**

> Gosh this wasn't easy to write. The idea came from a friend talking about how she'd love to see a John/Wilbur confrontation and I had to write it up.


End file.
